In the Gospels, we read about a time when Jesus and His Apostles were in a boat on the water and a storm hit:
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a storm of wind came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even wind and water, and they obey him?”
Over the next few months I’ll be writing some more about ancient Christian symbols (the fish, the anchor etc), but I thought I’d reboot my Symbolism Series by talking about something which caught my eye at Liturgy this morning.
In my parish, around the inner portion of the dome, we have paintings of the Twelve Apostles (with St. Matthias replacing Judas). This morning I ended up sitting next to the following painting of St. John:
It occurred to me that, while I know the book he is holding is symbolic of his Gospel, I had no idea of the symbolism behind the chalice and snake. When I got home I needed to satisfy my curiosity, so I did some research…
Last week there was another meeting of “The Oratory of St. Arnoldus“. This meant that Kevin and I visited a new bar, cracked open our copies of Coming Soon, and dug into the final book of the Bible, The Apocalypse…
The third chapter of Dr. Barber’s book he discusses the relationship between the Book of Revelation and the Catholic Liturgy. It is a brief review of the the material covered in another excellent book by Dr. Hahn’s book, The Lamb’s Supper.
Familiar Imagery & Structure
Dr. Barber begins by noting that no other apocalyptic book of antiquity relies quite so heavily on liturgical imagery as the Book of Revelation. In John’s book we find many things extremely familiar to a Catholic who attends Mass: Sunday worship, priests, vestments, incense, chalices, angels, saints etc.
In fact, the book of Revelation has profoundly impacted Christian liturgy and architecture throughout the centuries. For example, the celebrant’s chair is symbolic of the throne of God, and the surrounding chairs like those of the “elders” (Revelation 4:4).
This final book of the Bible is even divided into three parts which each have parallels with the sequence of the Catholic liturgy:
1. Penitential Rite
The early section of Revelation concerns seven letters which call the Church to repentance.
2. Liturgy of the Word
Later, a book is opened which brings about judgement.
3. Liturgy of the Eucharist
The book ends with the Church being united to Christ in the supper of the Lamb.
But why use liturgical imagery? Revelation uses liturgical imagery because the Eucharistic celebration is the way the Lord comes to His Church. Dr. Barber points out that the Greek word “parousia” which is used to refer to the Lord’s “coming” actually has the primary meaning of “presence”. Upon hearing this fact, every Catholic immediately thinks of the Eucharist and Jesus’ real presence in the Sacrament.
“Every Eucharist is Parousia, the Lord’s coming” – Cardinal Ratzinger
